Tuatha de Danaan
| Aliases = Celtic gods; Gods of the Celts; Children of Danu; Tuatha, Tuatha da Danaan, Danaan, Danaans | Identity = | Affiliation = | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = | BodyType = Humanoid | AvgHeight = 6'0" | AvgWeight = 450 lbs | Eyes = 2 | Hair = Variable | Skin = Variable | NumberOfLimbs = 2 | NumberOfFingers = 5 | NumberOfToes = 5 | SpecialAdaptations = The Celtic gods are extremely long-lived and are immortal; they stop aging upon reaching adulthood. They are three times denser than normal human beings. | UnusualFeatures = | Origin = Pantheon of Earth-Gods | GalaxyOfOrigin = Otherworld | StarSystemOfOrigin = | HomePlanet = Avalon | PlaceOfBirth = | Creators = Tom DeFalco; Ron Frenz | First = Thor #386 | Overview = The Tuatha de Danaan are a humanoid race of extradimensional beings that hale from Avalon, a small pocket-dimension adjacent to Earth. An interdimensional nexus between Avalon and Earth can be reached via the United Kingdom. They are also known as the Celtic Gods, who have been worshiped by the Celts (a civilization of humans who lived in the British Isles and regions of Europe). The worship of the gods fell with the rise of Christianity. | HistoryText = Origin The precise origin of the Tuatha remains shrouded in legend. According to ancient myths, the high chieftain Iarbonel coupled with the primordial Earth Mother Danu (Gaea) and sired the first generation of Celtic gods. Pre-Cataclysmic Age Mannanan and Lir, both sea-gods, were worshiped as such by the Atlanteans of the Pre-Cataclysmic Age. Over 21,000 years ago, the new god Crom led a shaman to three iron-bound books of magic, which the shaman used to imprison Shuma-Gorath in what would become Mount Crom in Cimmeria. Hyborian Age The Tuatha de Danaan were worshipped at least in 18,000 BC, during the Hyborian Age: * The Picts invoked Nuadens Argatlam of the Silver Hand, Cernunnos, Epona, and Danu. * The Cimmerians worshiped Crom, Lord of the Great Mountain. His subordinates including such gods as Morrigan the war-goddess, and Father Lir and his son Mannanan Mac Lir (whom worship had been handed down from the Atlanteans). Morrigan, with Macha and Nemain the Venomous, formed the triple war-goddesses. Were also invoked Diancecht and Badb. The war-goddess Scathach was active during that era, and, in league with the Tenger god Erlik (active trough the Tarim, a prophet worshiped as Erlik's avatar) arranged for Sonja of Hyrkania to become a mighty warrior. A dark god, the Lord of the Dark Forest, Lord of Forests and Lord of Death, Arawn was active within the Dark Forest (or Twilight Forest) of the Border Kingdom (along with his spirit-beasts), where he had chosen for bride the Argossean Merya after she asked every gods that were listening for rescue from a band of Picts that chased her. Arawn was repelled by Conan, but Merya was killed in the process. Earth Following Iarbonel's death, Nuada took the lead of the Tuatha de Danaan. They left their cities in Otherworld Tír na nÓg and traveled through an interdimensional nexus to Earth in approximately 1896 BC, just as their hated enemies the Fomorians had done centuries earlier. Return to Otherworld Around 350 AD, upon the arrival of the Milesians (the ancestors of the Celts), the Tuatha relinquished their holdings on Earth, sealed an agreement with the Milesian druid Amergin stating that the Ireland's mortal inhabitants would worship them in exchange for protection, and then returned to Otherworld. Cold war with the Asgardians Starting in the 8th century AD, when the Asgardians-worshiping Vikings began plundering villages in the British Isle, a cold war between Tuatha and Asgardians began. That enmity lasted for century, and for about a thousand years, the Asgardians and Tuatha de Danaan seemingly didn't interacted, until the modern age. Modern days At least two events have launched back the exchanges between the two groups: * When the Warriors Three inadvertently killed the shapeshifting Giant Holth, his father King Gnives demanded as retribution a list of items (all extremely difficult to acquire), including Chulain's spear, leading the four Asgardians to enter Otherworld. * They eventually joined forces to defeat the Egyptian god of evil Seth, ending their enmity. | Habitat = Earth-like | Gravity = Normal | Atmosphere = Normal | Population = | Powers = The Danaans all have some potential to practice magic, mostly but not limited to changing their appearances, transforming matter and wielding cosmic, elemental and paranormal energies. | Abilities = | AvgStrength = The Average Danaan male can lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions; the average Danaan female can lift (press) 25 tons under optimal conditions. | Weaknesses = | GovernmentType = Monarchy | TechnologyLevel = Magic | CulturalTraits = The Danaans were worshipped as gods by the Celts and Gaels of the British Isles and Gaul, now comprising modern England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France. | Representatives = Brigid, Caber, Cernunnos, The Dagda, The Lady of the Lake, Leir, Morrigan, Taranis The Nethergods, including Necromon and Mandrac, were possibly degenerated Tuatha de Danaan. | Notes = | Trivia = "Tuatha de Danaan" translates as "Children of Danu." Danu was their ancestral spirit linked with the Danube river in Ancient Gaul (modern Germany, France and Switzerland). It sometimes appears in Celtic literature as "Tuatha de Danann." | Links = * Celtic Gods at the Guide to the Mythological Universe }} Category:Pantheons Category:Otherworld Races Category:Tuatha de Danaan Category:Druidism Category:Neo-Druidism